New knowledge and business from research ideas – call for research funding applications 1/2016

Through the "New knowledge and business from research ideas" application process, Tekes funds projects in which a project team is preparing to commercialise a research idea.

Application period: Fri 22.01.2016 - Thu 17.03.2016

The research project

supports the development of the idea and

involves preparations to commercialise it as a new business.

Requirements for the project

The new business forming the goal of the project's commercialisation preparations must be significant in scope. The application must include an assessment of the planned business's scope.

The purpose of commercialisation preparations is to investigate potential ways of benefiting from the research results and identifying the most lucrative way forward, either in the form of a new company or as a new business conducted by an existing company. A range of alternative commercialisation opportunities must be investigated for each project.

Preparations to launch a new business by a single, new company cannot be the direct goal of such a project.

The commercialisation plan and resources must be realistic and plausible. The application must describe the expertise and previous references of the persons responsible for the commercialisation.

If one of the potential commercialisation routes involves the founding of a new company, the composition of the new company's team must be described. The application must also describe the way in which the new company plans to ensure the commitment of its personnel and the expertise it requires.

The applicant must have sufficient rights to use the background material and the resulting research results to commercialise the information and expertise in question. After the project, the research organisation must be able to hand over the rights to the research results to the party in charge of commercialisation.

Commercialisation preparations account for a significant share of the project budget, at least ≥40% at every stage of the project.

If the applicant organisation has its own assessment process for the commercialisation of research ideas, the project will benefit from being assessed and approved based on such a process.

It will also be considered an advantage if the project has already involved an analysis of and measures taken with respect to commercialisation potential.